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Partisan politics divides, but governor race shows bette By Kaylee Anderson and Audrey Inglish With the presidential election fast approaching, our country feels more divided than at any time in recent history. President Donald J Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have taken slander campaigning to a new level. Being a part of their parties makes people open to the opposing side’s ridicule and ire. Many middle ground politicians are not considered because the extremes of the Democratic and Republican parties are chosen over them. “To be a representative you either have to be completely the right or completely the left, which I think makes it really hard to be a middle person,’’ said NS social studies teacher Chris Hoopes. “I think that there are probably some really good middle people that represent either party, but that is overlooked a lot because the parties are so one way or the other. It is really dysfunctional and negative.” Political stance did not used to be a deciding factor for whether or not someone got respect, trust or friendship. Because of the back and forth
cal views are seen as an enemy. “Forty years ago, when asked to rate how ‘favorable and warm’ their opinion of each party was, the average Democrat and Republican said they felt OK-ish about the opposite party. But for four decades now, partisans have increasingly turned against each other in an escalating cycle of dislike and distrust — views of the other party are currently at an all-time low,” said Lee Drutman in “How Hatred Came to Dominate American PoliWith increasing polarization in the political sphere, democracy as a whole is at risk. “It’s bad news for a democracy when 60 to 70 percent of people view fellow citizens of the other party as a serious threat,” Drutman said. “And the more the parties continue to unify their supporters by casting the other party as the enemy, the higher this number will rise.” towards villainizing the opposing opinion, some feel that both parties should spend the time and energy on reaching across the aisle to see the alternate perspective.
“I think that there needs to be a balance of understanding of either side,” said Hoopes. But instead of striving for understanding, people in the current political climate will only listen to the opposing side long enough to pick apart their argument and who they are as a person. The parties focus more on attacking their opponents than advocating for their own intentions. “Republicans and Democrats can’t please into their party and want their issue to be prioritized,” Drutman said. “But in a polarized two-party system, they can make it clear why the other party is bad.” Given the current concerns, political journalists have made predictions on the longhave on democratic society. “The growing partisan hatreds and the forces driving them have been a long time in the making,” Drutman said. “It’s possible they are coming to an end. But more than any other time in the last century and a half, they are testing the very foundations of American democracy.” However, despite the slandering of the presidential election, the race for Utah Gov-
running mates have with unique ads pro “We talked abou without hating each Governor Spencer C wins, we come toget we’re hoping that U for the rest of the na Cox approached series of ads in whic to talk about the imp kindness during the
also included a mess accept the results of regardless of the ou These videos hav of viewers, and spot shown on news outle including Good Mo Show, CNN, and M run internationally i Brazil, Mexico, and “America is hung This call to good respect has proven t
NS students support Trump despite nega By Jacob Cox In a recent poll at NS high school, the majority of students indicated that they would vote for Donald Trump. The poll showed that 53 percent of students would vote for Trump, while just 32 percent would vote for Biden, with 15 percent indicating that they would wish neither man be elected. “I would vote for Trump because everything he said he would do, he’s done,” said sophomore Darld Swapp, “and Joe Biden, over the forty-seven years he’s been in politics, he didn’t do nothing. Donald Trump’s done a heck of a lot more than Biden.” Currently in the national polls, Biden is leading Trump. According to polls if the election were now, Biden would be the next president. ButTrump has come from behind before, and he could make a big comeback
with some of the states who are borderline right now. “I think that it will be very hard to unseat Trump,” said teacher Tyler Bailey, “and I think that president Trump will win re-election. I think it will be closer this presidential election than it was last time. I don’t think he’s going to carry all of the states that he did in 2016, but I do think that president Trump will win the re-election.” While people have strong opinions about who should be our next commander in chief, most agree that the current path to the White House has been ablaze with nasty rhetoric and uncivilized behavior. The presidential debates are the greatest example of the nastiness that has permeated this election cycle. Many see both ing only to talk about how the other candidate is wrong. “I feel like the presidential debates are absolutely hilarious to watch,” said senior Kaje Nielsen. “They really portray how bad of shape America is right now.” Others at NS felt the same way. Students in the recent NS Times survey offered the following comments about the nature of the debate: “It was a national embarrassment with an unfortunate lack of maturity shown on both sides.” “Very disrespectful.” “One of the most embarrassing dis-
NS TIMES POLITICAL POLL We asked students at NS who they would vote for in the upcoming national and state elections.
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President Trump 53%
